Bi4-Ltncasttr Farming, Saturday, Saptambar 30, 2000
Home economist Carol Stafford cooked up 12 reci
pes and dished out timesaving, nutrition, and decorating
tips during a recent cooking school.
Stafford takes time out to answer questions during a break in the action at the
cooking show.
Funkin’ Chunkin’ Fall Festival To Benefit York Farm And Natural Lands Trust
The second annual “Punkin
Chunkin’ and Fall Festival will
be held on Oct. 14 from 10 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. at the York Expo
Center for the benefit of the
Farm and Natural Lands Trust
of York County. The event is
being presented by the York
Ridge Administration Offers Grants
To Rural Youth Organizations
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) On behalf of Gov. Tom
Ridge, Agriculture Secretary
Samuel E. Hayes Jr. announced
that rural youth organizations
may apply for direct grants and
matching funds to support their
educational projects and activi
ties under the Agriculture De
partment’s Agriculture and
Rural Youth Organization Grant
Program.
“Our youth are the future of
agriculture, and we are pleased
to offer these grants,” Hayes
said. “The grants will help these
organizations expand activities
Expo Center and WSBAAVARM
103.
Teams of up to five people will
build a human-powered machine
and compete to throw a pump
kin the farthest distance. Teams
may enter one of three divisions.
Youth: Division I is sixth grade
that educate our youth in issues
that affect their agricultural
communities and rural Pennsyl
vania.”
A total of $25,000 is available
for the grant program, which is
funded by proceeds from a trust
fund through the U.S. Depart
ment of Agriculture. Organiza
tions may apply for direct grants
of up to $2,500. Applications
must be postmarked by Dec. 1 to
be considered.
Grants can be used by 4-H and
FFA organizations and agricul
tural vocational-technical classes
to fund educational projects, pro-
Chefs Converge On Cooking Show
MICHELLE RANCK
Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
One can never know every
thing about foods or have too
many recipes, principles demon
strated recently to approximately
1300 participants who came to
Lancaster Mennonite High
School to attend a cooking show.
Besides learning time-saving
or decorating tips from home
economist Carol Stafford, partic
ipants watched as she prepared a
variety of dishes which included
chicken, mashed potato, pizza,
quesadilla, beef stew, pie and
cake recipes.
“Every recipe is kitchen-tested
and uses ingredients readily
found in the home or supermar
ket,” said Stafford, home econo
mist for Homemaker Schools in
Greendaie, Wis.
A Bemardsville, N.J. resident,
Stafford now travels extensively
on her 11-state, 40,000 mile
cooking show tour. Stafford
speaks from both an educational
and experience standpoint, as
she not only has a food and nu
trition degree from Florida Inter
national University but is also
the mother of two children.
through eighth grade; Youth: Di
vision II is ninth through 12th
grade; and the adult category.
Registration forms are available
by calling the York Expo Center
at (717) 848-2596 or the Farm
and Natural Lands Trust office
at (717) 843-4411. The registra
grains, seminars or field trips to
increase awareness of agricultur
al and rural issues.
Recipients will be selected by a
13-member Agriculture and
Rural Youth Grant Board.
Applications and additional
information about the program
will soon be available on the de
partment’s website, which can be
accessed through the Pennsylva
nia homepage at www.sta-
te.pa.us or directly at
www.pda.state.pa.us, or by con
tacting Carl Muller in the de
partment’s Bureau of Market
Development at (717) 787-3181.
Convenience was another re
quirement for the demonstrated
recipes. “Do you know that 70
percent of us do not know what
we’re having for dinner until 4:00
in the afternoon?” asked Staff
ord.
Dinnertime
Cooking Tips
For a one-skillet dish which
used chicken and sweet potatoes,
Stafford recommended choosing
even-skinned sweet potatoes with
few blemishes. “The darker the
potato, the sweeter and moister it
will be,” said Stafford. Sweet po
tatoes should be stored not in the
fridge but at room temperature,
said Stafford. “The starches turn
to sugar in the refrigerator,” said
Stafford.
For a pizza recipe, Stafford
recommended transferring the
Bisquick from its original bag to
a rcsealable plastic bag, then put*
ting the new bag back in the easi
ly-recognizable box. “Don’t mash
or bang the Bisquick, just lightly
fill it in,” said Stafford as she
measured the ingredients.
As the dough formed, Stafford
advised cooking show students
that two minutes would be suffi
cient to mix the dough, as over
mixing will toughen the dough
ball. Also, placing wax paper or
cellophane wrap on top of the
dough ball before rolling the ball
will keep the rolling pin from
sticking to the dough.
A pasta-and-tomato dish
which used rosemary provided
an opportunity to teach partici
pants about the member of the
mint family. “You should crush
the needles,” said Stafford.
“That releases the aromatic oils
for a more flavorful dish. It has a
combination of a lemon and
piney flavor and is available
fresh, dried or whole leaf,” she
said.
“If you’re cooking with
canned vegetables and the dish
needs water to cook, add the
water from the canned veggies to
boost the nutritional value,” said
Stafford.
Cheese was an ingredient in
many of the featured dishes.
“Have you ever heard the say
ing, “Chicken without cheese is
like a kiss without a squeeze’?,”
asked Stafford as she prepared
another cheesy dish.
Food Presentation
Stafford also served up deco-
don fee is $5 per team. Winning
teams will receive trophies.
A pumpkin baking contest,
children’s games, and petting
zoo, musical entertainment, and
food and craft vendors are also
part of this family event. Admis
sion is $2 per person or $1 with a
Life Skills Workshop
SPRINGFIELD (Delaware
Co.) A two-day Life Skills
Workshop for professionals
who teach self management
skills will be taught by Penn
State Cooperative Extension
in Delaware County on
Thursdays, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12
from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Top
ics covered will include par
enting, nutrition, budgeting,
financial records, house main
tenance, etc.
An updated copy-ready
16-lesson curriculum will be
included with lesson plans
add support material. Lunch
will be provided both days.
rating tips. “For your tabletop,
put a votive candle inside a small
cookie cutter,” said Stafford. An
apple with the top hollowed out
held a votive candle for another
fall decoration.
Another time-saving idea was
spraying the inside of a measur
ing cup with cooking spray to
help honey come out easily.
Stafford brushed honey along the
side of a plate and sprinkled the
honey with chopped peanuts to
garnish an Asian noodle dish.
For another garnish, Stafford
dressed up the rich chocolate
cake with dark chocolate curls.
To make the curls she recom
mended using a vegetable peeler
on chocolate that was at least
room temperature. An inverted
glass bctwl turned the crystal
plate into a pedestooled piece for
the show, an easy way of making
a cake stand.
Stafford also garnished the
salmon spread dish with small
cookie cutter bell pepper cutouts
of leaves placed carefully along
the edges of the dish.
Cooking show students
learned another quick tip during
the mint pie demonstration. “Do
you want to take a pie to a fami
ly gathering but don’t have time
to make the crust from scratch?”
asked Stafford.
To move the crust from the
aluminum plate to your own
dish, simply brush one beaten
egg white on the inside of the pie
crust and bake at 375 for S min
utes, cool, then invert the pie on
the plastic lid, take it out of the
aluminum, and place your own
plate over the bottom of the crust
before flipping the plate and
crust to an upright position.
Produced by Homemaker
Schools, the cooking tour was
launched in 19?3 by Reiman
publication’s “Taste of Home”
magazine. The tour is supported
by national and area food com
panies.
Besides watching the cooking
show, participants received door
prizes donated by area business
es. Prizes included bags of gro
ceries, a microwave, floral bou
quets, plants, gift baskets,
cookbooks, and a stuffed singing
raccoon.
Lancaster Newspapers helped
to coordinate the show which
was co-sponsored by Stauffers of
Kissel Hill.
WSBA/WARM 103 radio card.
Admission for children under
five years of age is free.
For more information about
the event, contact the Farm and
Natural Lands Trust at (717)
843-4411 or York Expo Center at
(717) 848-2596.
Cost: $65.
To register, send check
made to Delaware County
Cooperative Extension to 20
Paper Mill Road, Smedley
Park, Springfield, PA 19064.
Include your name, address
and day time phone number.
The class will be held in the
Smedley Park Environment
Center on Baltimore Pike
near the Springfield Mall and
1476 exit #2. For more in
formation, call (610)
690-2655. Brochure available
providing further information
on instructors and training
topics.